An Incredibly Busy Weekend!

Hello everyone. Boy, did we have an absolutely crazy weekend here at REGI. The education team held a special event celebrating migratory birds and the rehabilitators admitted over 14 new patients! I've selected just a hand full of the patients to introduce you to now.

These two Barred Owlets came from the same nest but on two different days. Their condition suggests that they have been affected by rodenticide. It is likely that their parents were hunting and caught a mouse (or a few mice) that had consumed mouse poison. Not knowing that the mice contained poison, they fed the mice to their babies and probably ate some themselves. The parents may have become too weak to hunt or care for their young, leaving them very ill and orphaned. These two have luckily been rescued by caring individuals, but sadly there may have been more in the nest that have not been found. Their condition is poor, but they are growing stronger each day. Soon they will be placed with our adult foster father Barred Owl. Click here to watch a video of these two Barred Owlets gulping down their lunch. 

This adult Barred Owl was hit by a car near Weston, WI. He may have injured his tail which is essential for flight. We will continue to monitor him for improvements. His expression says it all... he doesn't feel well. 

This Sandhill Crane colt (baby) was found orphaned in Minnesota. His rescuers kept an eye on him for over an hour with no sign of the parents. When they were certain that his parents weren't coming back for him, they caught him up and took him to Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRC). Rehabilitation centers frequently work together for the best possible outcome for the patients. REGI is known for successfully raising Sandhill Cranes, so WRC transferred the little tyke here to Wisconsin. He is the first crane colt of the season here at REGI, but will likely not be the last. 

This little guy has had quite a terrifying experience. Someone was mowing their lawn and was unable to stop in time or swerve around this little fledgling. Luckily for this little guy, the mower blades were high enough as to not chop him to bits. He survived with a few abrasions but things could have been much worse. At this young age identifying the species can be tricky. We are tentatively thinking that he is a Song Sparrow, but he just may prove us wrong. 

Another Great Horned Owlet has joined the family. Like the Barred Owlets mentioned earlier, this little owlet is likely a victim of rodent poison. She has been placed with our foster father Great Horned owl whom you can see in the background of this photo. The owlet looks giant in the photo, but that's only because she's much closer to the camera lens. 

This female domestic bronze Turkey has found herself lost. She weighs over 30 pounds and thinks she is a lapdog. This turkey is clearly someone's lost pet and wants to find her way home again. If you know someone who has lost their pet turkey near Antigo, WI, please give us a call. (715) 623-4015.

This past Saturday, May 12th was the 20th anniversary of International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD)! IMBD falls of the second Saturday each May and was created to celebrate birds and motivate the public to become involved in bird conservation. To get the community of Antigo involved in IMBD and excited about birds, we held our second annual "Celebrate Birds" event in Antigo's city park. We kicked off the day with a morning hike along the Springbrook trail boardwalk. Our quaint little group got to see wonderful migratory birds like Soras and Common Yellowthroats. In the afternoon we headed over to the city park for a live bird show and fun activities. I took a few photos of the festivities. Enjoy!

There was a station where children could design bird masks to look like one of their favorite species of birds. Ella is creating a male Indigo Bunting and Manning is creating an Eastern Screech Owl.

Manning's mask looks awesome! He sure looks like an Eastern Screech Owl :)

There was a station to build pine cone bird feeders. The kids didn't mind getting their fingers full of peanut butter one bit!

Ethan looks pretty pleased with his bird feeder!

There was a game designed to challenge kids to think about the function of differently shaped beaks and how each beak is perfectly designed for the food that the bird eats. Ella got every single one right! Great job!

At the end of the event people were able to build their own blue bird houses! The pieces to the houses were sold as kits and were all cut out and prepared by one of our wonderful volunteers, Denny Stenstrom. Thank you, Denny, for cutting the lumber for these wonderful houses. We have plenty of extra blue bird house kits if any one out there is interested. We are selling them here at REGI for only $10. We also have completed blue bird houses on sale for $20. Sorry, we cannot ship the kits or the houses, but you can pick one up if you visit us for a summer tour. Click here for more information about REGI summer tours!

Alex and his father completed their blue bird house perfectly. It looks great! I love that he built the house while wearing his Bald Eagle mask the whole time!

We had a wonderful time at our "Celebrate Birds" event! We would like to thank our volunteers for helping us prepare and run the event and everyone who came out to celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with us. We look forward to next year!


That's all I can fit in for today! Molly and I are just about to head out for an evening program at Maine Elementary near Wausau, WI. It should be a fun night!
Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

Education Program Updates

Hello everyone. Molly and I have been busy the last few days with lots and lots of education programs. Last weekend we had a booth set up for Klondike Days in Eagle River. As always, it was great meeting the thousands of visitors who found their way to our booth.

Photo above: Director of Education, Molly McKay teaches a family of Klondike Days attendees about owls.

Photo above: This year at Klondike Days was the debut of our new and improved lead-free display. Our new educational poster, tackle box, and side show help teach people about the dangers of lead poisoning in wild birds. Not everyone knows that lead ammunition and lead sinkers are extremely dangerous to wildlife. We hope that through this display many more people are now aware of the problem and will make the voluntary switch to non-toxic hunting and fishing supplies.

Photo above: One of the new elements of our lead-free display is this wonderful tackle box filled with non-toxic tackle. This display allows people to see the wide variety of non-toxic tackle now available on the market. Glass, tungsten, bismuth, steel, tin, brass, and even natural limestone are some of the non-toxic materials now available in fishing tackle. Thank you to Jobber Lures, BossTin, RockyBrook Sinkers, and Tacklesmith for donating these excellent products.

We also did four programs on Tuesday in my home town of Marathon, WI. It was so fun to be back in the school I attended from Kindergarten through 8th grade. The students were wonderful and really made the birds feel at home. Thank you Marathon Area Elementary School!

Photo above: I am teaching the Marathon Area Elementary School students about the amazing adaptations of owls with help from our lovely Great Horned Owl.

This Wednesday was our last program of the season at the Wausau School Forest. This winter Molly and I have been giving programs for the 5th grade students there about twice a week. It has been so fun to meet the wonderful 5th graders from each of the schools around Wausau. I know that Molly and I are looking forward to heading down there again next winter!

Photo above: Molly teaches the 5th grade students at the Wausau School Forest about Barred Owls.

We have another program this Saturday, March 10th, at Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH). If you're looking for something fun to do with your kids or grandkids, bring them out to the SPASH Science Extravaganza in Stevens Point, WI. There will be hands-on activities, food, and fun. The event is taking place from 10 am to 2:30 pm and we will be doing a one-hour live bird presentation from 10:30 to 11:30 am. All ages are welcome. $3 admission supports the Stevens Point FFA. We hope to see you there!

Many of you are faithfully keeping our patients in your thoughts, and we thank you for that. I am pleased to say that everyone continues to improve.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Karissa Mohr

Wildlife Educator

A Big, Huge, Giant Update

We have had SO much going on around here and I need to try to fit it all into one gigantic blog update... Here goes!

The education team has been very busy with lots of programs. It's a good-busy though, we are not complaining! :D On Wednesday, Education Coordinator, Molly McKay and I did a program for the Tri-County Area School District after-school program in Plainfield, WI. On Thursday, Molly did a program for the Popplewood 4H club in Ringle, WI. We had a wonderful time at both of these programs! We never get tired of doing programs at new locations... or familiar locations for that matter! We are often invited back, and we love it! Everywhere we go, we meet so many great people interested in the beautiful raptors we work with. Rightfully so, the raptors will take your breath away! If you are among the lucky that have met some of our raptors, you know this is true. If you haven't met them yet, you really should!

On Friday, Molly and I did three programs for Edgar Elementary School. This was a very exciting trip for me because I grew up in Marathon City, only a few minutes away from Edgar, WI. In addition, my wonderful little cousin, Madison Borchardt is a 1st grader at Edgar Elementary, and was able to see all of the wonderful birds we had to share.

Photo above: I am teaching the students of Edgar Elementary School about owls with help from Barred Owl, Malcolm. (Photo credit: Molly McKay)

Photo above: Education Coordinator, Molly McKay teaches the students about Peregrine Falcons during our third and final program at Edgar Elementary. The arrow is pointing to my darling cousin, Madison. I love you sweetie!


On Saturday, Molly and I traveled 7 hours round trip to Edgerton, WI to speak with members and friends of the Sterling North Society at Sterling's very own historic home and barn. Sterling North was an author and animal lover who grew up in Edgerton, WI. He has written many great books, the most well known being "Rascal," subtitled "a memoir of a better era," in which he writes about his trying childhood and special bond with his pet raccoon, Rascal. If you would like to learn more about the Sterling North Society, follow this link! Molly and I had a terrific time and want to thank everyone from the Sterling North Society for their wonderful hospitality!

Photo above: Sterling North's home in Edgerton, WI.


The rehabilitation team has also been extremely busy with many new patients. The baby season has arrived and tots have been slowly adding up.

We currently have three Bald Eagle patients in our clinic with a fourth on the way. That means we have 42 big, beautiful Bald Eagles under our care at REGI in addition to the dozens of other birds in need of help.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle from Birnamwood, WI is suffering from starvation. As you can tell, he is in very poor condition. We are tube feeding him several times per day in hopes that he will continue to fight. He is standing, which is a positive sign, but I'm tentative about being overly optimistic right now.

Photos above: This Bald Eagle from St. Germain, WI was found grounded under the nest he is guarding. He is eating well, and things are looking promising for him. We would like to get him back out to his nest as soon as we can to take some of the burden off of his mate, but he has some trauma from a possible fall.

Photo above: This Bald Eagle from Keshena, WI was admitted after having a "disagreement" with another Eagle. He is able to fly and is currently in a flight enclosure so he can maintain his flight muscles.

Photo above: This beautiful Red Tailed Hawk was found in someone's back yard in Wausau, WI. He has a broken right wing and is extremely thin, suggesting that he has been unable to fly for some time. How he broke his wing, we are unsure, but we do know that he wouldn't have lasted much longer without help. If this bird looks unusually light to you, you're correct. Red Tailed Hawks can have amazing color variations within the species, from deep browns to creamy tans. The more extreme the color variation, the less commonly you'll see them. This beautiful light male is less common and extremely gorgeous.


Photo above: This Great Horned Owl from Antigo, WI was found by some kind and observant turkey hunters with an injury to his left wing and smelling of skunk, a common occurrence when rehabilitating Great Horned Owls. These powerful and confident owls frequently take skunks, but when hunting for such large prey, they risk getting injured in the process. That is likely what happened to this fellow.


We also admitted our second baby Great Horned Owl. This youngster is underweight and needs to be tube fed several times per day.

Photo above: Even at this young age, Great Horned Owls have all the tenacity in the world.


Photo above: Tubing the baby. He's underweight and dehydrated so tube feeding is absolutely necessary to improve his condition. That doesn't mean they like it though...

Photo above: He looks pleased to have that yucky tube out of his throat. ;)

Photo above: As busy as we get, we always have time to pause to watch a baby swallow a mouse. It is such a terrific undertaking for an owlet to swallow a mouse, but they are able to accomplish it each time, and I am always amazed.

The first baby Great Horned Owl admitted last week is doing well. She is eating like a champion and growing quickly. We do have some concerns about her vision though. We need to do more vision testing, but if we do find that she has trouble seeing, it is likely that her parents noticed it before we did and bumped her out of the nest.


We also admitted two baby Pine Siskins found as orphans. One of the youngsters, the first to arrive, is in fair health and eating well. The second youngster is not doing so well. It appears that he may have tussled with a creature capable of fitting him inside its mouth, most likely a domestic dog or cat. Both babies are fully feathered and are already beginning to experiment with flight.

Last year in late March, we admitted a baby Pine Siskin making it the earliest passerine chick and the first baby Pine Siskin in our 20 year history. This year, we have TWO Pine Siskin babies from two different nests! Both are from Marathon County, but definitely did not come from the same parents. The reason this is so strange is because in the Eastern half of North America, Pine Siskins nest in the North, farther North than humble little Wisconsin. They are frequent winter visitors of this area as adults, but have had very few recorded nesting events in Wisconsin. What is going on here?! At the risk of being controversial, I'll just say that climate change is a curious thing and it has consequences farther reaching than any of us can fathom.

Photo above: Baby Pine Siskin #1. As you can tell from the photo, Pine Siskins are fairly small birds, and as I have quite petite hands, this baby is tinier than you may think.

Photo above: Baby Pine Siskin #2. This little tyke is the less well of the two, but still is anxious for feeding time. You may be able to see that his wings look blurry and that is because, when hungry, young birds flutter their wings at a speed that would impress a hummingbird! They do this to tell their parents, "Hey! I'm hungry! Feed me first!", and it is terribly adorable to see an incubator full of fluttering babes.


Another early baby for this spring is a 6-week-old Common Raven. Admitting a baby this large so early in the season is a bit surprising, especially for a northern climate, but Common Ravens start early and produce very hardy young. This little guy (or gal) was found alone, and being so young, is still unskilled at flying. He has a misshapen beak and it is likely he was kicked out of the nest by his parents. It may sound harsh, but baby birds with birth defects are disposed of by their parents so more time and energy can be concentrated on the young with a better chance at survival. This also serves the species well because the individuals with lesser genetics are taken out of the gene pool right away ensuring healthier young in the next generation. Because of his deformity, he will not be released, but he will become an education bird and teach thousands of people about the wonderfulness of Ravens. He has a big job in front of him!


Photos above: The 6-week-old Common Raven spends a lot of time watching us, his human caretakers. Because he has a deformity, he is non-releasable, and it is OK for him to become habituated to humans being around him. In fact, we want him to be comfortable around people because he will be an education bird someday.


As promised, here's an update on the Eaglet. It has been one week since the last update and he has grown another pound! He's beginning to look more like a body builder than a baby bird! Right now, his body is spending a lot of time and energy developing muscles necessary for standing, and one day, flying.


Photos above: The eaglet is out for his weekly check-up. He has grown another pound and is beginning to really look like he could be the proud symbol of freedom Americans know and love. If you look closely you can see that he is crossing a milestone, adult feathers are beginning to peek out of his baby fuzz. His feet are also already gigantic! He has a long way to go, but he's getting there fast! I hope you all enjoy seeing him grow as much as we all do here at REGI.


Whew! That was quite the blog. Hopefully you were all able to get through it!

Thanks everyone!

Karissa Mohr
Wildlife Educator

Mark Your Calendars!

One of the joys of the winter is that the education team has the chance to travel to festivities around the state. Throughout most of the year our programs are at schools or for private groups. Traveling to festivals give the public the chance to see our birds. And we love when we have the opportunity to share them with you!Photo above: Little Bit is one of our long standing partners in education. This little Saw-whet owl often joins us in his favorite tree stump at festivals and programs.

So now is the time to get out your calendars!
Here are some upcoming events:

CWEStival
http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/cwes/cwestival11.aspx
Central Wisconsin Environmental Station (CWES)
Amherst Junction, WI
Saturday, February 12th, 2011
2:00pm - 5:00pm
(REGI programs at 3pm and 3:45pm)
CWEStival is a winter family festival. Enjoy snowshoeing, sleigh rides, crafts, and more along with our program.

Klondike Days
www.klondikedays.org
March 5 & 6, 2011
Eagle River, WI
Klondike Days is "a family-oriented gala event featuring a variety of turn-of-the-century activities". REGI will be set up at a booth with educating the public both Saturday and Sunday.
Photo above: Steve Fisher talks with a couple of young visitors at Klondike Days in 2010.

Science Extravaganza
March 12, 2011
Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH)
REGI program from 1-2
This is a student driven, hands on science fair with fun for the entire family. REGI's afternoon performance will be just one of many highlights throughout the day.
Photo above: Ishmael, our beautiful Peregrine Falcon, is another of our education birds who often accompanies us to festivities. He is an old pro with lots of fun personality. If you have met him at past programs you are sure to remember him. If you have yet to meet him, you won't want to miss the opportunity.

We hope to see you this winter!

~Molly McKay
Environmental Education Coordinator

A Raptor Visit to Wittenberg Elementary School

The REGI Education team was invited to the Wittenberg Elementary School yesterday evening to present two programs to the K-5 students and their families. Wittenberg is just down the road from us on Hwy 45.
The students and families were excited and asked excellent questions! The birds really responded to their interest and respect, and comfortably gazed at their inquisitive faces.

(Photo: Steve Fisher, REGI's Education Director, gives our introduction while the students and their families anxiously await the appearance of the first raptor. Photo credit: Elizabeth Foley)


(Photo: Steve discuses the common characteristics of raptors with Diana, the Red-tailed Hawk, as a beautiful example. I'm showing the students a close-up view of the powerful talons that all raptors possess. Photo credit: Elizabeth Foley)


(Photo: Steve and I discuss the similarities and differences between owls with Malcolm, the Barred Owl, and Fonzi, the Great Horned Owl. Notice that the Great Horned Owl has feather tufts on top of his head and yellow eyes while the Barred Owl has no feather tufts and dark eyes. Photo credit: Elizabeth Foley)

The hospitality of the staff and students was spectacular and they even sent us home with delicious pigs in a blanket! Thank you Wittenberg Elementary!

Have a great weekend everyone! Hunters, please be safe, and remember, save your deer hearts for our raptors! :)

Karissa Mohr
REGI Wildlife Educator

Loons Times Two, Ruffed Grouse Admitted, Coulee Region Audubon Society and La Crosse Sierra Club Presention

When I last wrote we had one young Common Loon in the REGI clinic. She came in wrapped in fishing line. On Thursday we admitted another Common Loon patient. This is also a young bird. Unfortunately, loon #2 has lead poisoning.


( Photo: This fishing hook is embedded in the digestive system of the Common Loon that was also wrapped in fishing line. If you have ever had a fishing hook in your finger you can appreciate how this must feel to the loon patient. )



( Photo: This is a full body x-ray of the Common Loon. The x-ray shows the location of the fishing hook. Look at center chest of the x-ray. )

Loon #1 is gaining strength and eating well. She remains on one tube feeding a day and is on prophylactic treatment to ward off aspergillosis. She is also on antibiotics. The hook has caused an infection in her abdomen.
The great news is the hook appears to be degrading within her. With a little luck and her strong digestive system, the hook should disappear over the next few weeks. We are so grateful hooks are not made of lead.

Loon #1 was admitted with a weight of under 5 lbs. She is now closing in on 7 lbs!
We are cautiously optimistic she will be a wild loon within a few weeks time. The plan is to fly her to the coast of Florida to be released.


( Photo: Common Loon #1 is gaining strength rapidly. While she currently carries a fish hook in her abdomen, we hope for a full recovery.)

Common Loon #2 is much weaker than our first loon. She has lead poisoning and is under treatment with CA EDTA to chelate the lead from her blood. The good news with this loon is the x-ray does not show any lead in her digestive system. We hope once the lead is chelated from her blood and bones, she will begin to recover as well.

She is being tube fed exclusively as she is unable to eat on her own at this point. Having said that, she grabbed a minnow and ate it early this morning. YEA!


( Photo: Katie F. positions Loon #1 for an x-ray while Betsy R. tech at the Antigo Veterinary Clinic prepares to take her x-ray. Many thanks to Dr. Sarah and the Antigo Vet Clinic for their continued support. )


( Photo: Common Loon #2 swimming in the tub. Notice the pea green feces under her. The green color is an indicator of liver damage and lead poisoning. )

If anyone has access to and can donate live minnows or small fish for our Common Loon patients, we would greatly appreciate it.


( Photo: This young Ruffed Grouse was hit by a car. She is improving daily. We hope for a full recovery. )

A Ruffed Grouse was hit by a car near Elcho, WI. She was fortunate a caring person scooped her up off the road and brought her into REGI for care. Thanks Rachel!

I have been traveling doing programs this past week. On Wednesday I was honored to do a presentation for the Coulee Region Audubon Society and the La Crosse Sierra Club in La Crosse, WI. They are two fantastic groups. Talking to groups involved in the environment is exciting for me on many levels. Many thanks to them for inviting me. I left La Crosse with many new friends.

We continue to prepare for winter at the REGI faciliy.



( Photo: Robert and Brandon working on installing the plastic shielding on the caging.)

Have a great day everyone.

Marge Gibson © 2010

Raptor Education Group, Inc (REGI) Birds Featured in Wisconsin Trails Magazine

Hello Everyone,

We are happy and excited to announce that several of our education birds are featured in the most recent issue (Oct 2010) of Wisconsin Trails magazine. Wisconsin Trails is a well-respected magazine in our state, which makes the honor all the more pertinent. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! As an additional bonus, a photo of one of our favorite resident chickens appears on the back page. While the story is unrelated to her personally, it is an honor to have this special little lady showcased.

The photo above of our red-phase Screech Owl is just one of those you will see. Photographer Jerry Luterman did a fantastic job not only of photographing our birds but also being sensitive to their needs and ours during the process. I am a stickler when it comes to the well being of our birds. Keeping me happy means the photo session had to be stress-free and uncompromising for the birds. That can be a challenge for photographers.:)

Fall has arrived! The brightly colored leaves of the Maple and Oak trees are spectacular in our region now. Migration is ongoing, but many species have already left Wisconsin for warmer climates. Last night we had a hard frost with the temperature dipping to a chilly 23 degrees F. or -6.7 degrees C.

The clinic is full of patients, so stay tuned to the next blog.

Happy fall everyone,

Marge Gibson